Power driven elevating conveyor



June 1956 1.. c. WILCOXEN ET AL 2,751,063

POWER DRIVEN ELEVATING CONVEYOR Filed Aug. 24, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 860/) C. Wi/Coxerl G Char/ie 5. Pike Y Wm ATTORNEY INVENTORS.

June 19, 1956 L. c. WILCOXEN ETAL 2,751,063

POWER DRIVEN ELEVATING CONVEYOR Filed Aug. 24, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS.

eon C. Wi/coxen 64 ChQF/I'Q 5 Fake BY WW ATTORNEY June 19, 1956 c WILCQXEN ET AL 2,751,063

POWER DRIVEN ELEVATING CONVEYOR Filed Aug. 24, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 [eon C. W/'/coxen (S Char/1'6 E. p/ke ATTORNEY IN VENTORS:

United States Patent 2,751,063 Patented June 19, 1956 flee POWER DRIVEN ELEVATING CONVEYOR Leon C. Wilcoxen and Charlie E. Pike, Dodge City, Kans., assignors to Mayrath Machinery Company, Inc, a corporation of Kansas Application August 24, 1954, Serial No. 451,840

4 Claims. (Cl. 198-121) This invention pertains to power-operated conveyors of the mobile type, and more particularly to an improved self-leveling engine mount for conveyors of the powerdriven auger type.

In the construction of mobile conveyors of this type, which include a relatively long main conveyor constituted by, for example, a housing including a power-driven auger, it is desirable to be able to adjust the angle of inclination of the auger tube or other main conveyor housing to the horizontal, so that grain or other materials being conveyed can be moved to the desired delivery point, both horizontally and vertically. It is also desirable, in such devices, to ensure that the engine, usually a self-contained gasoline engine, shall be maintained in its normal horizontal condition regardless of the adjustments in inclination of the main conveyor housing.

The above considerations could readily be satisfied if it were feasible to mount the engine on some part of the conveyor assembly which does not tilt as the inclination of the main housing is varied. To do so, however, would involve considerable difficulty in making the power con nection from the engine to the anger or other conveyor element carried by the main housing. Thus, if a belt drive is employed, the length of the belt would need to be varied considerably to accommodate different inclinations of the main housing.

It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to provide a design in which the engine mount for the conveyor is carried by or from the main conveyor housing, but so connected thereto, and to the elements which support the main housing, that the engine itself will remain level throughoutthe entire range of inclin tions of the main conveyor housing. At the same time, the engine mount is so arranged that no readjustments in the power transmission or belt need be made as the inclination of the main housingis varied.

In general, the above solution is obtained by means of a parallelogram linkage suspended from the main conveyor housing and so arranged that one leg of the parallelogram, at least, maintains a horizontal position regardless of changes in inclination of the housing itself. The engine is inturn carried by the: parallelogram linkage, and is thus maintained level for the same reason. At the same time, the arrangement of the engine is such that the distance from the engine pulley to the region of the main housing at which power is transferred to the conveyor remains su-fiiciently constant that minor changes in the belt length required can be automatically compensated without in any way disturbing the level condition of the engine.

The invention itself, and the features which. distinguish it from prior conveyors of the same general type, will best be understood from the following detailed specification of a preferred form of the invention, taken in connection with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a viewinside elevation of a mobile: poweroperated conveyor in one position of inclination of the' main. conveyor housing,

Fig. 2 is a similar view, with part of the upper structure omitted, and showing the main conveyor housing at a higher angle of inclination,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation similar to Fig. 1, showing the essential parts to a larger scale,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective View of the main structure, but again adjusted to give a greater inclination of the conveyor housing,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modified form of the in-" vention, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of the Fig. 5 machine.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the conveyor illustrated is of the power-driven auger type, comprising a tubular housing 10 within which is suitably journalled a rotatable screw or auger conveyor element 12 which extends beyond the lower end of housing 10 so as to engage in a mass of material which is to be carried up through housing 10 and discharged therefrom as at a delivery spout or the like 14. Housing 10 normally has its lower end slightly spaced from the ground or other surface, to expose the lower projecting end of the auger screw 12. as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A foot, such as a rod or bar 16 may be welded to the lower end of housing 10 to support the same in this position, with the protruding end of the auger screw 12 exposed to receive material which is to be carried up the housing. The other main support for the housing 10 is provided by a radius rod structure 18 pivotally connected to housing 10 as at pivot 20. In practice, the pivotal connection usually will be made through ears or lugs welded or otherwise fastened to the material forming the housing 10, and these ears or lugs may be braced as by a bar or bars 22 welded both the ears and to the housing itself.

At the lower end of radius rod structure 18, a wheeled carriage 24 is provided, and the rod structure 13 is piv otally connected thereto, as by being welded to the axle upon which the wheels turn. The single radius rod 18 visible in Figs. 1 and 2 is to be understood as representative of two such rods, the second lying behind rod 18, and a part of such second rod being shown in Fig. 4. This Wishbone arrangement of two rods provides increased lateral stability of the machine.

In order to adjust the inclination of housing 10 to the horizontal or ground plane, a rope or cable 26 extends from the carriage or its axle, and is connected by a block and tackle arrangement to a pulley or pulleys 28 rotatably secured to a point on the housing 10 which is lower than the radius rod pivot 20. The end of the cable is wound onto a winch carried by axle 30 so that by turning winch crank 32 the wheeled carriage may be pulled closer to the lower end of housing 19, as shown in Fig. 2, to elevate housing 10 to a higher angle. This particular arrangement is merely exemplary, since the inclination may be adjusted by other means, for example, by pushing on the wheel axle rather than by pulling it.

The position of pivot 20 on housing 10 is so chosen that the effective distance from the pivot point to the ground as measured in the direction along the projection of radius rod 18 to the point A in Fig. 1 is about equal to the distance from said pivot point to the lower end of auger 12 or leg 16, so that these two dimensions in fact define with the ground line an isosceles triangle, for a purpose to be described below.

Turning now to the structure which supports the drive engine for the conveyor, it will be seen that at a point along housing 10 which is somewhat above pivot 20 there is an engine mount pivot 34, which again may be defined below. An engine 36, such as a gasoline engine of a type commonly used to power utility devices, is carried by the parallelogram linkage, and its power output pulley 38 is connected by belting or the like to the drive pulley 40 of the auger 12. This drive pulley is connected to the auger or auger shaft itself, the details of the arrangement in this respect forming no part of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, there is an intermediate or idler pulley-set 42 carried by housing 10, and a pair of belts'44, 46 are used for convenience, but here again the arrangement may be varied in this respect Without departing from the principles of the invention.

An upper bar 48 of the parallelogram linkage shown in Fig. 1 is rigidly connected to a vertical bar 50 depending therefrom, and the latter is slidable in a sleeve 52 which is mounted at a fixed point on radius rod 18 but can swivel slightly thereon. The arrangement is such that bar 50 remains in a substantially vertical position regardless of the inclination of the housing 10, for a reason now to be explained.

It has already been stated that pivot 20 is located that the distances to the ground in the direction along the vertical projection of the rod 18, and along the portion of housing below pivot 20, define an isosceles triangle with the ground plane. The position of sleeve 52 on rod 18 is selected so that the distance from the pivot point of said sleeve along rod 18 to the pivot is substantially equal to the distance from pivot 20 to the pivotal mount of bar 48 (functionally integral with vertical bar 50) at the pivotal support 34. The smaller triangle defined by the points 34, 20 and 52 also forms an isosceles triangle and one which is geometrically similar to the larger triangle described above. It follows from elementary geometry that the bar 50 will remain perpendicular to the base of the isosceles triangle formed by rod 18 and the portion of housing 10 below point 20. Since this base is the ground, bar 50 will be maintained in a vertical condition regardless of the inclination of housing 10, and bar 48 of the parallelogram linkage will be maintained at a constant inclination to the horizontal.

It has been said that bar 48 is one leg of the parallelogram linkage. Referring now to Fig. 3 of the drawings, the two sides of the parallelogram connected to bar 48 are constituted by a main motor support bar 54 which is pivoted at or near the pivot point 34, and a rod 56 pivoted to bar 48 at its outer end. What may be called the lower leg of the parallelogram is provided by the engine base structure itself, comprising a horizontal bar 58, here shown as having an integrally connected extension 60 to which rod 56 is pivoted as at 62. Point 62, if connected directly by some structural member to the point 64 at which bar 54 is connected to engine base 58, would form the fourth leg of the parallelogram. Geometrically, the same result is obtained by the engine support elements 58 and 60 of which the former provides a convenient, constantly horizontal platform for the engine 66. To this end, any desired auxiliary bars or structure may be connected to bar 58 to accommodate the engine mounting bolts.

In order to provide proper belt tension in belt 44 regardless of the inclination of tube 10, a combined tensioning and clutching structure is used. If it were convenient to mount engine 66 so that its crankshaft carrying pulley 38 were concentric with point 74 in Fig. 4, there would be no need for any belt tension adjustment, because the distance from pulley 38 to pulley 42 would be invariable as the housing 10 changed its inclination. In the interests of simplicity and economy however, and also since some means for slackening the belt to stop operation of the anger is desired, the present invention includes a simple arrangement which maintains belt tension automatically for changes in housing inclination, and also provides for manual movement of the engine to slacken the belt when desired. This is accomplished without in any way dis- 4 turbing the engines horizontal position, by means new to be described.

As best shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, a clutch lever 68, adapted for manual operation, is pivoted to housing 10, conveniently on the same axle 30 as carries the winch already described. Pivoted to a bracket on this lever 68 is an engine control rod 70 whose upper end has secured thereto a collar through which slides an upper rod portion 72 pivoted to the main engine support bar 54 as at pivot 74. The lower end of portion 72 also carries a collar slidable along rod 70. The two portions 70 and 72 are thus connected in slidable relation, and a spiral spring 76 around rod 70 between the collars operates to maintain the combined efiective length of 70 and 72 at a minimum value.

A stop pin 78 is welded to lever 68 at the position shown, so that when the clutch lever 68 is turned clockwise to the position shown in Fig. 3, the stop pin 78 is engaged by rod 70 to define the limit of clockwise movement of lever 68. As shown in Fig. 3, rod 70 in this position passes below the level of pivot 30, so that rod 70 is locked against counter-clockwise movement which would otherwise result from the pull of rod 70 due to the tension in the tautened belt. The spring 76 now pulls the engine assembly in the direction tightening the belt 44.

In this way, the desired result is accomplished that when lever 68 is moved up to its Fig. 4 position, engine 66 is allowed to move upwardly slightly to release or slacken belt 44 to interrupt the drive to the auger. When in its downward position however, lever 68 and rod 70 maintain the belt in taut driving condition, but the spring 76 permits slight movement of the engine to accommodate for the variation in distance between pulleys 38 and 42 incident to changes in inclination of the housing.

Lever 68 can be moved further counter-clockwise from its Fig. 4 condition, and to the over-center position on the other side of pivot 30. Before this point is reached, and just before all the compression is removed from spring 76, the collar on the upper end of rod 70 strikes a pin 77 on rod portion 72 and positively moves the engine mount to its unclutched position. If the engine is to remain unclutched, further counterclockwise movement of lever 68 will carry it over-center as described above.

Since Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are views in side elevation, only one wheel 24 and one radius rod 18 are visible therein. The perspective view of Fig. 4 shows that there is in fact a second radius rod 80 coplanar with rod 18 in the familiar wishbone configuration. The lower ends of rods 18 and 80, as has been stated, may be connected in any desired way to the axle for the land wheels of the device. In referring to the triangle of which one side is formed by the projection of rod 18 on the vertical plane, it is meant that where such a wishbone construction is used, the length is measured along a line bisecting the angle between rods 18 and 80 and lying in the vertical plane containing point 20, and not along the slant lengths of such rods.

In constructions in which the conveyor housing 10 is supported for angular adjustment by means other than the radius rod arrangement, the invention can still be applied so long as some element corresponding to vertical rod 50 is provided together with means for keeping the same vertical during changes in housing angle. Vertical rod 50 may be thought of as a control rod since it controls one set of the parallelogram links so that they are at a constant angle to the horizontal direction for all positions of the housing 10.

From the description given, it will be seen that application of the principles of the invention provides for four more or less independent motions or adjustments, the same being independent in the sense that any one can be controlled as required without disturbing the others, although all are related in the accomplishment of the entire purpose of the apparatus. These four variables are (1) the power drive to the conveyor itself, either an auger avenues B as shown, or a chain or belt conveyor if used, 2) the control of inclination of-the main conveyor tube 'or' housing to the horiozntal, (3) the control of the engine mount to maintain it horizontal, and (4) control of engine position to clutch and unclutch the conveyor drive or belt.

The principles of the invention can, as stated, be applied to conveyors and loaders of other than the auger type. In order to illustrate this flexibility of application, as well as to show certain modifications which are advantageous for some purposes, a variation in the application of the invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings.

Referring first to Fig. 5, there is shown in side eleva- 'tion a conveyor which, like the one described above, is mounted upon a wheeled support and provided with means for adjusting the inclination of the main conveyor housing. This housing is indicated by reference numeral 100, and may be of rectangular cross-section with its top either open or closed, and containing a conveyor flight which may be of the chain type or the like. Grain or similar materials introduced at the inlet end will be carried up the housing 100 and may be discharged as from a spout 102. The manner in which the flight is driven can also be varied, but is accomplished in the machine illustrated by a driven pulley 104 at the lower end of the housing belted through a gear-reducing pulley-set 106 belt driven from the engine 108.

The adjustable support which carries housing 160 from the wheels 1163 is shown in Fig. 5 as a radius rod 112 extending to the housing between its longitudinal center and its lower end, and another support arm 114 extending from the wheel axle and having its upper end slidable along the under side of housing 100. These parts are visible in Fig. 5, but it will be understood that in the ordinary case, rods 112 and 114 will in fact be duplicated in pairs so as to form a laterally rigid structure; the rear rod of each bar is of course hidden by the front rod in Fig. 5., but that corresponding to rod 112 is partially visible in Fig. 6 at 113.

Any desired or convenient device may be employed to adjust the height of inclination by changing the angle between rods 112, 114 and between their respective counterparts. In Fig. 5 this means is represented by a cable 116 connected at one end to the rod 112, extending to and over a pulley 118 attached to rod 114, and back to a winch preferably mounted on the support or radius rod (113) behind rod 112. Thus, winding of the winch will shorten the cable 116 and pull the front end of support rod 114 to a more erect position, elevating the front end of housing 130.

The engine support and control mechanism of this form of the invention are shown to a larger scale in Fig. 6, in which the same reference numerals have been employed as in Fig. 5. The point of attachment between rod 112 and housing 180 is indicated by numeral 120, this being a pivotal connection and, as in the previously described conveyor, situated a distance from the lower end of housing 100 approximately equal to the distance from pivot 120 to the axle of wheels 110. These two dimensions thus define the equal sides of an isosceles triangle as in the previous case.

The main motor support point is indicated in Fig. 6 as an axle 122 journalled in housing 1% and extending outwardly therefrom toward the observer. Fixed to this rotatable shaft 122 is the upper end of a depending main engine support rod 124, which may thus swing in the vertical plane about the axis of axle 122. Outwardly of the connection between axle 122 and rod 124, a horizontal sleeve 125 is rotatably mounted on the projecting portion of axle 122, and to this sleeve 125 is fixedly secured a vertical sleeve 126, through which slides a vertical control rod 123 whose lower end is pivotally connected as at 130 to the radius rod 112. Rod 124 and sleeve 126 may thus turn independently about the axis of axle 122.

Again as in the previous construction, the distance from stub shaft 122 to pivot is made very deser the same as the distance from pivot 120 to the connection 130. A comparison with the first form of the invention will indicate immediately that the same geometrical considera tions which maintained control rod 50 vertical, depsite different inclinations of the housing, will maintain sleeve 126 (and therefore rod 128) vertical in the construe tion now being adumbr'ated.

The en ine driving the conveyor is again indicated in Fig. 6 by numeral 108, and is supported upon any convenient platform 134 such as one formed of anglei'rons and/or cross pieces preferably arranged to receive a variety of standard engines. This platform 134 is pivotally connected to the lower end of main support 124 at one end of the platform, and likewise pivotally connected to a secondary support 136 at its other end. Support 136 extends upwardly and at its upper end is pivotally connected to a rigid bar 138, as by having one end bent and passed through a hole in the outer end of bar 133. Bar 138 is welded or otherwise rigidly connected to sleeve 126, and these parts (which may be braced as shown, for rigidity), are so dimensioned that support 'rod 136 and main support 124 constitute two opposite sides of a parallelogram. The remaining sides of the parallelogram are constituted by engine platform 134 and the fixed distance between the stub shaft 122 and the pivotal connection between bar 138 and support 136.

Since the structure defining the upper side of the parallelogram (e. g., that connected between the upper end of sleeve 126 and the upper end of the secondary support 136) and including bar 138 is maintained at a fixed angle with respect to the vertical sleeve 126, it follows that the platform 134 will remain horizontal regardless of changes in housing inclination and changes in the swinging movements of the parallelogram incidental to the tightening and loosening of the drive belt 140.

Comparison with the form of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 4 will show that while in the earlier form the vertical rod 50 was attached at one end to pivot 34 and extended downwardly therefrom, sliding through a collar pivoted on radius rod 18, in the present form the sliding parts are in effect reversed, the vertical rod being pivotally secured at its lower end to radius rod 112 and extending upwardly to slide within a sleeve 126 secured for rotation about stub axle 122. While the geometrical characteristics are unchanged by this reversal, it has a certain advantage in that the part of the rod 128 extending beyond sleeve 126 extends upwardly and out of the way, where it cannot strike the ground regardless of how low the conveyor inclination. A glance at Fig. 3 will show that at low inclinations, the rod 50 will extend downwardly where it may interfere with ground clearance. This may be especially important where the conveyor is being towed along the ground or a road, in which case the housing would normally be adjusted to a low angle of inclination.

The form of the invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6 also illustrates how the invention is accommodated to a design in which the swinging motion of the engine support is reversed, as compared with Figs. 1 to 4, for clutching and de-clutching operations. In the present case, since the drive belt extends from the engine pulley toward the lower or ground end of the housing 100, the engine must swing leftward in Fig. 6 to tighten the belt. The rod 142 is not spring biased in this form; it is pivoted at one end to main support bar 124, and has a collar 144 clamped thereon as by a bolt 146. The position of collar 148, and hence the movement of rod 142, is adjusted by the crank pivoted on the housing as at 152 and connected to the collar. The position shown in Fig. 6 is an intermediate one; if crank 150 is turned clockwise, the collar 148 and rod 142 will urge the engine mount to the left, tightening the belt 140. On the other hand, if the crank is turned counter-clockwise, the belt will be loosened to interrupt the transfer of power to the conveyor pulley. Limits may be set to the rotation of crank 150, as by stops on the housing 150 or mutual interference between the crank 01' its pivot and rod 142, so that the positions slightly past dead center (with reference to pivot 152) may provide locked positions, especially for the belt-tightened condition. The motor weight and belt tension serve to hold the crank in the selected over-center position.

The invention and its principles have been described in connection with particular preferred embodiments given by way of example, but various other changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in such matters without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a power-operated elevating conveyor, a conveyor housing mounted for adjustment of its inclination to the ground plane, a wheeled support including at least one radius rod pivoted to said conveyor housing at a point spaced from its lower end equal to the effective length of said radius rod, a control rod pivoted at one end to said housing and having its other end in pivoted sliding relation to said radius rod to maintain said control rod in vertical position as the inclination of said housing is altered, a parallelogram linkage suspended from said housing at one of its corners with one link of said linkage fixedly secured to said control rod, and an engine mount forming the link of said linkage opposite to said one link.

2. In a power-operated mobile elevating conveyor, a conveyor element, a housing for said element, a supporting radius rod pivoted at one point on said housing and having a length equal to the distance from said point to the lower end of said conveyor element, a rod pivoted to said housing and passing through a sleeve pivoted on said radius rod to maaintain said sod vertical during changes in inclination of said housing, means for adjusting the angle between said radius rod and said housing to adjust the inclination of said housing, an engine support pivotally carried by said housing, and link means connecting said vertical bar with a point on said engine support to maintain the same horizontal during changes of inclination of said housing.

3. The invention in accordance With claim 2, including a motor position control rod connected to said engine support, a control lever pivoted on said housing, and pivotal means connecting said control rod and said control lever for movement of the former by the latter across a dead-center position to maintain said engine support locked in a lower position but movable to an upper position for de-clutching purposes.

4. In a power-operated elevating conveyor, a conveyor housing, a support leg pivoted to said housing to hold the same in an inclined position, means for adjusting the angle between said housing and said leg to adjust the inclination of said housing, an engine support structure pivotally suspended from said housing, means connecting said leg and said support structure to maintaian at least a portion of the latter in a constant angular relation to the horizontal during changes in the inclination of said housing, and engine mounting means carried by said portion, a pair of slidably connected elements extending between said engine support structure and said housing, forming a control bar of variable length, a spring device for urging said slidably connected elements toward one extremity of their relative sliding movement, and a crank connected between said housing and one of said slidably connected elements, whereby to resiliently bias said engine support toward one extremity of its swing motion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,528,917 Solcum Nov. 7, 1950 2,598,880 Beldin June 3, 1952 2,601,916 Bobrowski July 1, 1952 2,673,639 Mayrath Mar. 30; 1954 

